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Dennis Theobald, Editor-in-chief, ATA News
Alberta teachers stand to receive an increase in the neighbourhood of 4.8 per cent to salary effective September 1, 2009.
The increase will bring the average salary for a teacher with four years of university education and more than 10 years of teaching experience close to $84,800. Administrators and substitute teachers will receive the same percentage increase in their allowances.
The increase in salaries and allowances is determined using a formula that links changes in teacher compensation to annualized percentage changes in the Alberta average weekly earnings (AAWE). The formula is incorporated into the five-year agreement concluded between the province and the Alberta Teachers’ Association in November 2007 and ratified just over one year ago. The same formula has been used to calculate increases in remuneration for members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) since 1991, although MLAs have voted to forgo an increase this year.
The average weekly earnings figure reflects what Albertans actually earn, and the increase that teachers will receive is in line with salary settlements for Alberta’s nurses, provincial civil servants and unionized employees in the private sector. Statistics Canada reports that in the months of October, November and December 2008, negotiated salary increases in all sectors averaged 5.0, 4.8 and 6.1 per cent, respectively, for bargaining units of 500 or more employees in Alberta. The increase is also in line with the 4.53 per cent increase teachers received for the current school year when the formula was applied for the first time.
The data that the salary calculation uses became available with the publication in the last week of February of data from Statistics Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) for the 2008 calendar year. Although the final figure is still subject to minor adjustments, Statistics Canada is reporting that the average weekly earnings of Albertans in 2008 was about 4.8 per cent above what it was in 2007. Because this statistic reflects the trend over the entire calendar year, the impact of the economic turndown, which began to be felt in this province as 2008 drew to a close, had only a marginal influence over the annual result.
It is anticipated, however, that the weekly earnings of Albertans will be adversely affected in the months to come as the effects of the global recession and falling energy prices are fully visited upon the province. It is likely then that the difference in the Alberta average weekly earnings between 2009 and 2008 will be modest, and possibly negative, thus affecting teacher salaries in 2010/11. In the worst case scenario, teachers would still be protected because the five-year agreement stipulates that teacher salaries will not decrease even if average weekly earnings decline. Of course, in these circumstances, the rate of inflation, which has already declined significantly, would be expected to remain low, minimizing the potential that teachers’ real income and standard of living would fall significantly.
When the five-year agreement with the government was concluded, Premier Stelmach promised that his government would cover the cost to school boards of any resulting increase in teacher salary settlements and would continue the class size reduction initiative. Since then, government officials have indicated that these promises will be kept despite the current fiscal squeeze.
On April 7, 2009, the date the provincial budget will be handed down, teachers will expect that the relevant grant increases for 2009/10 will be sufficient to cover the cost of the teachers’ salary settlements.
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